Hold On, I Need to Stop and Shovel

Well, I managed to stagger through chapter two of "Getting Serious About Getting Married". Before I go further, I think I need to stop and shovel out some of the crap that has been building up around me. I am teetering on a point where it is no longer infuriating but simply laughable.

• Okay, the whole Genesis 1 thing where "it is not good for man to be alone." I just want to point out that "not good" is not the same as wrong, bad or immoral. It was not in any way a moral defect as she goes on to describe singleness to be.
• "Without someone to work for, work is just a hollow exercise." No it isn't. Work is something of intrinsic value and provides purpose and meaning regardless of marital status. And I'm pretty sure there's something in the Bible about doing all things for the glory of God and doing your work heartily as for the Lord and not unto men.
• "The money we earn from work shouldn't be spent on self-centered consumerism or by people we don't even know. God designed work as a way for us to make an inheritance for our children." I'm sorry. I guess I should tell the children who are being fed by my UNICEF contributions and my Compassion child that my money belongs to MY FAMILY and God never meant for the fruit of my labors to be shared generously and sacrificially to strangers in need.
• "The reason singleness is disappointing, lets us down, and leaves us wanting more is because singleness isn't what God intended." That totally explains why married people are never disappointed, let down and left wanting more.
• "Singleness is unnatural." What, like Swamp-Thing and zombies?
• "I don't know about you, but for me, being single just got worse and worse." And maybe you're just a whiny ---- nevermind.
• "We want the fruit of our labors to benefit our own families as God intended." Again, God never intended the fruit of our labors to benefit other people, just ourselves. Spending all your money on yourself when you're single is abhorrent. But spending all your money on your own family when you're married is God's will for you.
• "Being single without meeting the necessary criteria set out in Matthew 19 [including my own narrow interpretation of "for the kingdom"] is just as unbiblical as sexual activity outside marriage." No. It isn't. Not by a long shot.
• "Matthew 19 teaches it is okay to be unhappy about being single." That's right folks. Your outward circumstances and situations are allowed to completely control your attitude and character. If things aren't the way you want them to be, then clearly that's not the way God intended them to be, and you don't have to like it one bit. Besides, men love it when women grumble, whine and complain about being single. It's irresistibly attractive and seductive.
• "Of course, if you're a single woman but are not called to singleness, it's usually not your fault." That's right. You shouldn't have to take personal responsibility for this at all. It's much easier to just blame men.

New Lifehouse - Whatever It Takes

Man, who hasn't been there?

Oh, and why are their songs so awesome and their videos, well, not so much?

Talk Shows On Mute

Great song. Strange video.



"And judge you from the card castle comfort of America." Great line.

GAO

Newsweek has an interesting interview with the head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). It strikes me as a good snapshot of the fiscal challenges the country faces.

I Celebrate The Day

Okay, so I'm beginning the celebration 30 hours ahead of schedule. This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs.

Always Winter Never Christmas

Relient K and C.S. Lewis together in one song. Yahtzee.

President Pardons Turkeys; Gitmo Detainees Remain

President Bush pardoned three turkeys in Indiana today. Much like the detainees in Gitmo, it was unclear if they were being detained for specific crimes or simply held in imprisonment for five years because they appeared suspicious. Sources could not be confirmed but many hinted that the turkeys may have been waterboarded during questioning before being pardoned and released. The families of the turkeys could not be reached for immediate comment.

On the campaign trail, Senator Clinton responded to the news by indicating that education and health care for turkeys in New York has improved dramatically due to legislation she sponsored in the Senate. Barrack Obama berated the Bush administration for showboating as the turkeys were sent to Disney World after their release. Fred Thompson felt that lowering taxes would raise the standard of living for turkeys everywhere. Mitt Romney said, "Mmmm . . . turkey."

Infuriating

So I borrowed Sara's much balleyhooed book, Getting Serious About Getting Married by Debbie Maken. I have read all seven glamorous pages of chapter one and already I have learned an important lesson: I shouldn't read it before going to bed. My mind is racing with arguments and with nearly every sentence I find myself scribbling a rebuttal on my set of notes. This book is infuriating. It's sad because I suspect that I will agree with some of her opinions later in the book (i.e. the presence pf prolonged adolescence in our culture and the need to proactively pursue romantic interests rather than idly waiting by in some sort of romantic fatalism), but her writing feels a bit like having smoke blown constantly in your eyes. I'm not sure if this book will change my overall perspective on singleness and marriage, but one thing I can say is I'm thankful I'm not married to that woman.

Oh, and she also has a blog. This is amusing. After commenting about her own book that "Last year in January, the death knell for the so-called 'gift of singleness' began with the unleashing of Getting Serious About Getting Married: Rethinking the Gift of Singleness" she quickly adds that "I am humbled that these Christian organizations would think me worthy of delivering a message on singleness." Yeah, describing your own book is a "death knell" strikes me as a pretty humble statement too.

Hey, Look At Me

At the risk of being guilty of self-aggrandizement, I wanted to share this picture and give props to Tom who took it and shared it with me. I always find it fascinating when a picture can seem to capture something of a person's personality, and I think he pegged it when he pointed this one out as falling under that category.

"The Contemplative Steven"

Church Stuff - Willowcreek

I came across an interesting video from Willowcreek and how they are reviewing and reconsidering their approach to ministry. There is also part of Hybel's reaction and commentary.

Bubbly

I'll probably think this song is grossly nauseating in about a week, but for the moment I find it strangely endearing and charming.

Gideon Bibles

So Newsweek currently has an article describing a trend of hotels no longer allowing Bibles to be placed in their rooms. Certainly they have a right of providing or removing whatever objects they want into their guest rooms, but the whole story just seems somewhat bizarre to me. Like the question of why other religious materials aren't available, for example. I don't know, maybe because other religious organizations didn't want to spend whatever it costs to place a copy of their text into every hotel room in America? It's not like the Holiday Inn is the one buying these to proselytize their guests. It seems like such a skewed view of equality to think that "Providing Bibles would mean the hotel "would have to take care of every guest's belief."

From another angle, isn't it interesting what power a copy of the Bible has? Did it somehow irritate the conscience of these "wealthy, young, and trendy" people when they were confronted with a discretely placed religious text instead of an erotic game or neatly placed contraceptive?

Cumbersome

So, my vintage 1994 19" TV hasn't been doing so well lately. When I was attempting a game of MLB for the old Playstation, it would get some serious wavy line action. This wasn't a huge deal as I don't watch much TV, don't have cable, and it didn't seem to be a problem when I was playing movies. But, recently a co-worker let me know he wanted to get rid of his 32" TV that is just a few years old and wanted to know if I would be interested in buying it for $75. I wasn't sure how I felt about spending the money until I did a quick price check at Best Buy and realized I would be shelling out several hundred dollars more if my TV finally did fall off its last leg. So, with the gracious help of Aaron and his dad's work van, I took possession of the giant.

But as is so often the case in the curse of materialism, the story doesn't end there. Of course, this large and heavy TV does not fit onto my old, flimsy TV stand so I had to go to Wal-Mart today and drop another $50 to purchase a suitable stand. It should work, but now my two large Van Gogh's on the wall behind it are going to look out of whack. I am going to have to move them up the wall and hope that works, and my living room as a whole just looks a lot smaller than it did before. And basic cable becomes much more tempting.

I think I may have violated my standards for simplicity with this purchase. Although the initial cash outlay seemed like a wise purchase, the total cost and hassle is kind of bothersome. It's an interesting microcosm of materialism. The more stuff you buy, the more other stuff you have to buy to accommodate it, until it generates such a mass that it creates its own gravitational pull.

Isn't That Cute?

So on Thursday at Chatham, everyone who is enrolled for medical insurance had the option of receiving a free influenza vaccination. As I was waiting in line for the shot, an employee's spouse had come in with her children so that she could get the vaccine. As she sat down in the chair by the nurse, her little girl asked her father, "Is mommy getting her flea shot now?"

I'm not sure if she was just being a ham or if she really was confused, but it was pretty funny.

I Don't Have A Plan Either But I'm Not Hillary Clinton

Given what seems to be a rather luckluster crop of Republican candidates, I wonder if this is going to become the next general election theme.

I Don't Have A Plan But I'm Still Not George Bush

So, the frequently used Democratic line in the last election of "at least I'm not George Bush" seems to have notched up to the next level this year. Last night, I saw an ad for someone running for the mayor of Philadelphia, and his number 2 reason why people should vote for him was because "we need to let these two [pictures of Bush and Cheney pop up] know that they're accountable." Wow. I didn't realize that the President and Vice President of the United States actually had to report to the mayor of Philadelphia. That's fascinating considering they won't even listen to the UN.

Look, I disapprove of the current administration as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to vote for you for mayor simply because you don't like them either.

More Music

Committed to bringing you more music than MTV, this song has been going through my head the last few days.




Oh, and David previewed a song he is working on Saturday night. Sweet.

Congrats

Congrats to Red Sox fans everywhere in their World Series victory. Just think, there are some 3 year olds in Boston who had to wait their whole lives to see this.

Going Through The Valley

I want to give kudos to the one and only David Hynes who gave his first sermon message last night. He gave an excellent talk on going through the valley of the shadow of death but knowing that God is with you, has a direction for you and is guiding you there. I thought the message was an excellent balance of drawing on the authority of Scripture with the credibility of personal experience. Even a wayward microphone did not distract him and he spoke with a confidence and posture that made it seem like it was his 1ooth message and not his first. I found it to be a spiritually nourishing message for me personally. It was great to sit under the teaching of this gifted, mature and humble young man. Oh, and he also led the worship music and was rockin' out with that. Well done sir.

Sad Songs Say So Much

On the Falling Water trip, one of the questions from the question book was along the lines of "What song has the ability to move you to tears?" These are my two songs. What are yours?

Fascinating Verse

A little while back I came across this verse and it's been bouncing around my mind again the last few days:

"The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might . . . "

How do you think this verse ends? If you are not familiar with this particular passage, what would you guess it says? What is this focused purpose and intention of Christ?

And the answer is " . . . destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:5).

In the midst of this great story of love, grace, mercy and redemption is also the story of warfare. We would do well to not lose sight of this.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." (John 10:10-11)

"I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:14)

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)

The Least And Most Important Thing

A few weeks ago I was driving to church and dusted off an old school Skillet CD. For some reason, it was really speaking to me that morning and I was kind of tearing up. Then when I went into church a song was playing and, while I am sure it was a very nice song, it didn't resonate at all even though it may have been along a similar theme.

I was thinking about that and noticing how extremely different the styles of the songs were. I was kind of chastising myself because style should be the least important element of musical worship and it's so individualistic one should be very careful to not impose or demand their style preferences onto a corporate body. And yet, the style of music can allow the words to evade and penetrate the stubborn defenses of one's heart.

At any rate, on the drive that morning the angels sang a song over me.

How Hard Can It Be?

While my parents were visiting, my mom was perusing my bookshelves and commented on the large number of relationship and communication books in my possession. "Yeah, I've had to go back to the books a few times" was my sincere statement to which she empathetically replied along the lines of "It shouldn't have to be that difficult."

I have been mulling that over since then and have sort of settled on another great paradox of life. On the one hand, when you love someone there are times when you will have to fight for the relationship like you would fight for your own life, and there is always ample room for self improvement which will only aid the relationship with someone else. And on the other hand (as I recall my father once quoting), "If it don't come easy, you better let it go."

Ughh

It's 2:42 AM. I have a migraine. And Cleveland will not be going to the World Series. Good times.

Chillin' with the Folks

I have enjoyed a fantastic visit with my parents this past weekend and early this week. After a few directional challenges, they arrived late Saturday evening. On Sunday, we enjoyed a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art followed by dinner with Jake and Rita. It was cool to connect my family with some of my great friends out here. Then on Monday, we went up to Valley Forge. It was a beautiful day to take in the history of the place.

We wrapped things up yesterday with lunch at Chatham followed by a trip to the Delaware Museum of Natural History.

Oh, and I also hit a hot streak and won 8 of the 11 games of shanghai. Sweet.

Great times! I can't wait for the next visit.

Fitness Challenge

The gauntlet has been thrown down. I am in a friendly competition with someone, and my goal is to gain 12 pounds (preferably of muscle and not gut). I am excited because I finally found some helpful training videos that clearly demonstrate proper form for exercises that are actually easy enough for me to do (and have been doing though perhaps with questionable form.)



Before you know it, I'll need to start playing this video.




I am a sexy beast.

Vote Them All Out

Wow, and for a minute there I thought Congress couldn't get worse. It's a good thing Congress is taking a break from irrelevant current issues facing Americans like the war, healthcare, social security reform, and resolving current global humanitarian crises, to comment on events that happened in Turkey nearly 100 years ago.

I hope this pushes their approval rating into the single digits.

What A Sad Mess

What on earth is it going to take to get things moving in the right direction in Darfur?

Game 4: Yankee, Go Home

After a game 3 loss, Cleveland rebounds to win the series! Grady Sizemore led off the game with a homerun for the Indians and they led the rest of the way. I was impressed that manager Eric Wedge went with pitcher Paul Byrd with the start instead of rushing ace C.C. Sabathia back on three days rest. He took a lot of heat and criticism for the decision, but if you look back at history, both Cleveland's own and throughout baseball, you see the averages are definitely against starting someone on short rest. Clearly, he didn't read the Mike Hargrove Guide to Postseason Management with forward by Bobby Cox and for this I am thankful. Plus, Cleveland now gets to match up their aces well against Boston.

I'm so happy! I hope Cleveland goes all the way to the World Series, but just knocking out the Yankees feels so good. In the epic words of Curt Schilling, "I can't think of a better way to make 60,000 New Yorkers shut up."

Rules of the Forward

I have a few simple rules I would like to recommend to everyone in the universe regarding e-mail forwards. Please consider the following.

1. Never send a forward. Yes, I know, you want to be the one who saves the world against people who want to take Touched By An Angel and all televised sermons off the air because they mention God, or you want to share an inspiring story of heroism to everyone you know. But if everyone followed this simple piece of advice, the world would be a better place.
2. If you refuse to follow rule #1, at least check the facts for accuracy before proceeding to hit send. Go to Snopes.com and filter it through their collection of urban legends and other myths. This little rule would probably cut out 90% of spam forwards.
3. Never send a forward to a mass distribution list, like say, the Kairos list. If you really want to tell the world about it, put it on your blog. If you don't have a blog, start one.

Game 2: The Cardiac Kids of the Cuyahoga

It's Game Two of the ALDS. Game tied 1-1 in the ninth inning. AL MVP Alex Rodriguez at the plate for the Yankees with a man on second and a 3-2 count . . . strike 3!!! Carmona gets out of the inning!

The most epic closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, takes the mound to face the bottom of the Indians line-up and quickly disposes of the struggling hitters. We go to the top of the tenth.

The Indians bullpen responds in kind and we go to the bottom of the tenth.

After a crazy at bat by Grady Sizemore, the Indians end up loading the bases only to strand them all and go into the top of the 11th.

Somehow the Bronx Bombers stay off the board and we go to the bottom of the 11th.

Kenny Lofton leads off with a walk then Franklin Guiterrez singles. Good execution with a sacrifice bunt puts two runners in scoring position with only one out. Grady Sizemore is intentionally walked to load the bases. With the game on the line, Cabrera steps up . . . and hits a weak fly (infield fly rule!) and is retired. This brings up slugger Travis "Pronk" Hafner. The count goes full. Bottom of the 11th, bases loaded, two outs, and a 3-2 count . . . base hit!! The Indians win!!!

They had no business winning this game after stranding 14 runners but with the help of some swarming nats the Indians come through and win against the Yankees and will head to New York needing one more win. And who will they face in game three? None other than the most dominant pitcher of his era, Roger Clemens.

What a game!

Game 1

Cleveland Indians: 12
New York Yankees: 3

Come on guys, keep it going! Tomorrow is a new day and you don't get to carry over any of those runs with you.

Another Cause For Celebration

I won an award for my speech (not the cow one) tonight in class! That makes me very happy. I wasn't quite as articulate in speaking as I had scripted it, but apparently I said it with conviction which was the theme of this week's lesson. That's two in a row! Next week's assignment is a two minute speech to teach the class about something I do at work. Since Chatham's business tends to be technically complex, I think I am going to break it down and talk about the simple but powerful underlying concept that underlies so many of our transactions: compound interest as illustrated by the Rule of 72.

Yeah, I'm not expecting a three-peat at the awards ceremony.

This Is A Story About A Cow

One of tomorrow night's stories for class has to be about a personal experience that is very animated and physically expressive. I think I am going to talk about a cow.

It was crisp, chilly autumn day so I donned my full orange hunting outfit and set out into the woods. It was a beautiful 250 acre farm, and I was enjoying my walk in nature. As I was walking towards my favorite spot I noticed a cow up on the hillside. I'm sure you've all seen a cow up-close before, just hanging out chewing the cud and being all docile. Don't let it fool you. They're just trying to draw you in with a false sense of security.

It seemed kind of odd that it was so far from the barn, but I just ignored it and kept walking. After awhile I looked back and noticed that it was following me. I kept going and still it was trailing behind me. Then all of a sudden, BOOM!, in the distance a shot was fired. At that very instant, without realizing it, my boot had gotten stuck in the mud, and I suddenly fell and hit the ground. I look down, thankfully realizing I fell because of my boot and not because I was shot, pulled myself out of the mud and kept walking. And still behind me is the cow, though perhaps now slightly agitated by the sound of the gun. I decide it's time to pick up the pace, but I look back and the cow is keeping in step. I go a little faster and look again and barreling towards me like I'm a human matador's cape is 1,000 pounds of Grade A beef. At the sight of this I take off in a full sprint and narrowly make my escape. I chance a look back over my shoulder and the cow is just standing there, looking at me with a smug look on its face. I walk back home with my tail between my legs, thankful I had survived the Running of the Bull.

For Those About To Rock

Monday's Lifehouse concert was awesome! When I last saw them at the House of Blues in Atlantic City they were much more mellow; Jason played a couple songs on the keyboard and as a whole they were somewhat low-key. This time however, Jason didn't play any songs on the keyboard and it was a much heavier, guitar driven, edgy rock sound. This pleases me greatly.

The only negatives were that their guest lead guitarist seemed like he was trying to steal the show a few times. I was like, dude, you're pretty good, but this isn't your band so just chill. The other is that they didn't play Everything which was a big let down. But, they did close with Broken which is my favorite song on their new album.

They played a good mix of old and new songs and did two cover songs including Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones with Bryce on lead vocals.

Yet another fantastic Lifehouse concert.

Prediction

Okay, I need to get this in before games start:

Phillies over Rockies
Diamondbacks over Cubs

Indians over Yankees
Red Sox over Angels

then . . .

Phillies over Diamondbacks
Indians over Red Sox

then . . .

Indians over Phillies

We're Men. It's What We Do.

What's the first image that came to mind when you read that statement? What was the "It" in question that flashed before your imagination? Was it of something negative, perhaps belching, farting and scratching? Something more negative like going to Hooters and getting into a drunken fight? Possibly something worse?

Or was it something positive? Like having a door held open for you, your heavy groceries carried for you, or a seat offered in a crowded place? Perhaps having someone to defend you?

I am still reading through Elderidge's most recent book, and in it he recounts a scene form the Western Open Range:

Typical of westerns and their mythic simplicity, the town has been overtaken by bad guys, as John says the world lies under the power of the Evil One (1 John 5:19). The crooks have installed their own sheriff, and hired gunslingers to frighten the citizens into submission. Two cowboys come to town to get some justice for the murder of their comrade, and the near murder of a boy they have befriended. In the saloon, they try to rouse the men of the town into action. One of the local tradesmen says, "It's a shame what this town's come to," to which one of the cowboys replies, "You could do something about it." "What?" the frightened man replies. "We're freighters. Ralph's a shopkeeper." Then my favorite line: "You're men, ain't ya?" The assumption being that whatever else a man might be, he ought to be a fighter.

I was kind of wrestling with that statement, not completely convinced of its validity. And then, in curious timing, I read something on Paula's blog that really seemed to speak to this very question. She is retelling the story of a nightmare she had dreamed and notes:

When we drove up, Steve was parked outside in a white pick-up truck. This is especially odd since Steve drives a Saturn. I sent Melissa in to get fries and a table while I stayed out to talk to Steve. However, in my dream I didn't talk to Steve, there was like a total scene skip and then Steve wasn't in the dream anymore. (Despite the fact that I wish he had been because he's a good friend plus a man and this situation ended up getting scary.)

Fascinating, isn't it? Here is a serendipitous and uniquely personal validation of a concept I was wrestling with. Here my friend wanted me around because (a) I'm a friend (b) I'm a man and (c) things are about to get scary. Instinctively, I love it and could scarcely hope for a better compliment.

An interesting question could be raised at this point along the lines of "What should women be able to expect from men? " (And vice versa.) I would say that every woman should have the right to expect nobility, courage, and honest strength from a man. I would also add though, that while it should be expected, it should never be taken for granted when it is received or witnessed.

That's Baseball

What a fantastic season of baseball this was. My beloved Cleveland Indians have made the playoffs for the first time since 2001 and will strive for their first World Series title in almost 60 years.

Over on the senior circuit, the Philadelphia Phillies completed a historic comeback to win the NL East. They were in sole possession of first place for only 2 of 162 games, but they were the ones that mattered.

An Indians - Phillies World Series? That might be a sign of the apocalypse.

Too Excited To Sleep

Have you ever been so excited about something you couldn't get to sleep? That's where I'm at tonight. I learned that our assignment for the Dale Carnegie class next week is to give a speech on something we have a strong conviction about, but it has to be in a particular format and can only be two minutes. I'm thinking about this:

She's 16 years old. But sitting on the floor across form her, in her home in this remote village, I can't help but wonder that she isn't only 11 or 12. Maybe it was the sickness. She's fighting typhoid for the second time in her young life and is weak with a fever. But even this can not veil her radiant smile. Across the room from her is a 17 year old boy. His demeanor is different, and he has all the stoic toughness you might expect of a man that age. His threats are different too. Will he listen to the voices of violence that just a few weeks earlier forced the US embassy to close, that months earlier burned the businesses and homes of Chinese and Westerners and that a year earlier bombed a crowded nightclub in a city nearby? Or would he use the education he was receiving to provide for his future to the benefit of everyone in his community?

He faced some tough questions. So do we. Why not us? Why not here? Why not now? Why can't we be the ones that look into the face of poverty, that look into the face of sickness, that look into the face of violence, and say you will not take these lives from us! We will connect our greatest love with their greatest need.

And you know what? I see it in you. I hear it in your words of encouragement and the way you celebrate each other and rally behind each other and care for one another. And just a few weeks ago we were all strangers. But we're not the only ones who need this love and respect. So do they.

There are a thousand ways you can show it. I want to share just two. First, when you get home tonight, go to Compassion.com. For what you pay now each month for cable, you can provide a young child with all the food, clean water, clothing, shelter, education and most importantly, the hope and respect they need. Secondly, I want you to go to Kiva.org. There, for what you paid to fill up you car with gas this week, you can provide a business loan, not even a charitable donation but a business loan, to an entrepreneur in a developing nation. Recently I had the opportunity to help a dairy farmer in Azerbaijan to purchase an additional cow for his business, and it was as easy as buying a book from Amazon. Who wants to go into the agricultural industry with me?

We can do this. The need is great. But your love is even greater.

How Rude

Admittedly I have not seen the full dialogue that took place between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, but I found the whole thing to be rather rude and distasteful. If you have such a low opinion of someone, why on earth would you invite him to your campus, just so you could say so to his face? First, I doubt anyone at Columbia appreciated how incredibly inhospitable they were acting towards a guest. It is that sort of lack of appreciation for an important cultural sensitivity that is stunning to me in an age of such liberal "tolerance and diversity." How can you say you want to open and extend a dialogue with someone on important issues and then start the whole event by berating them in an unquestionably harsh manner?

Look, I have very little tolerance for anyone who questions the holocaust and who would love to see Israel and the US wiped off the face of the earth, but I at least have enough decency and common sense to not invite that person to have dinner with me under a guise of open, fair and public dialogue of substantive issues and then turn on them and denounce them before they even have an opportunity to speak. That was disgraceful.

Watching The News

I know I have commented on this topic before, but today was so over the top it bears revisiting. The major news services really do a disservice when it comes to presenting the issues. Today, I happened to catch a snippet of both FOX and CNN that left a bad taste in my mouth.

This morning started off with FOX on while I was doing laundry. They were covering the story of an individual, I think he was a Minute Man on the immigration front, complaining that he was "denied free speech" because Columbia University rescinded their invitation for him to speak. Okay, let me break this down for you. The right to free speech does NOT guarantee you the privilege of an invitation to speak in a particular forum! And the fact that you were able to air your concern to millions more people over national airways than ever would have heard you speak on your actual topic of interest at a college seminar is quite dramatic proof of just how much freedom you have. Freedom does not equal entitlement! Do people not see this?

Tonight, while I was eating dinner, CNN was on in the background. Sandwiched in between stories of how the federal government is not doing enough to provide healthcare to children, the federal government is not doing enough to protect us from dangerous imported Chinese food, and the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration law was a scathing report that the federal government was (and I'm not making this up) spending far too much money and will crush the middle tax with higher taxes when it finally comes time to pay up. Wow. Now, I recognize the caveat here that says is government was more efficient it could address all of these complaints at the same time, but I suspect most people did not recognize the rather mutually exclusive nature of these complaints. What do you want people? More and bigger government or a balanced budget with lower taxes? I think the moral of the story is you should always be dissatisfied with the government no matter what it does, and not realize that in actuality what you want are for incompatible goals to be reached simultaneously without any sacrifice of your own. Or, at least that's what CNN would have you believe.

Beautiful Paradox

Live as free men.

Live as servants of God.

I was reading through 1 Peter (2:16) this morning and was struck again by that beautiful paradox. Freedom and service. Liberty with responsibility.

It's a good nugget to chew on today.

Seeing What Isn't There

I love it when someone makes an observation that forces me to rethink my position or understanding of things, especially when it is something from Scripture. This came to mind last night when I was reading The Way of the Wild Heart. Elderidge makes a comment "Notice that in the tales told in Scripture, whenever God gets hold of a man, he takes that man into an adventure of the first order . . . Peter called out of the boat to Christ in a raging storm." Here's the thing though. Christ didn't exactly command Peter to come out of the boat; he acquiesced to Peter's request for a sign. (Matthew 14:27-31). Then, this morning it was pointed out to me that God's promise of a son to Abraham was not explicitly given to Sarah until after the birth of Ishmael. I could have sworn it was given to both of them initially, but there's no indication of that. Sarah is not explicitly promised a son until Ishmael is already 13 years old. (Genesis 17.)

Now, of course, all this does not necessarily mean that Elderidge's statement is wrong, and certainly we know from the rest of Scripture that Isaac is to be the son of the covenant. It's interesting though, isn't it, how we see things that aren't actually there? Many thanks to my friend who shared these observations with me.

"Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And This Time With Feeling

So last night's Dale Carnegie speeches centered around two themes: enthusiasm and recognizing success. For the first part, you had to spend one minute demonstrating a task you do now without enthusiasm and then jump over a line and demonstrate, in an over the top manner, what it would like to do it with ten times more enthusiasm. I had to use the line, "We're going to make accounts payable exciting again!" Does anyone remember what that commercial was actually for? Anyway, it's good to know that all that time playing Moods is finally paying off.

I bet I could get 12% of people to like me

I had to laugh as I heard the news the other day that the approval rating of Congress currently rests at 11% according to a recent Reuters poll. Bush looks almost Reagan-esque compared to that number with a 29% approval rating of his own.

I should totally run for Congress. I'm pretty sure I could get 12% of people to approve of my work.

I wonder what Congress's number would drop to if friends, family and lobbyists were taken out?

Ode To Autumn, Volume Two

So my friend Becky posted a response to my Ode to Autumn list. This is my response to her response.

• The colors of the leaves are changing because the leaves are dying. See death and decay entry.
• The three apple entries only count as one.
• Football games and marching bands? Yeah, because I need another reminder of the excruciating agony that was my high school experience.
• Back to school. See above.
• Hayrides and bonfires. You only start the fire because it's frickin' freezing.
• S'mores. Overrated.
• I live alone. No snuggling.
• Food. Overrated.
• I'm 5'6". Basketball doesn't really do anything for me.
• Thanksgiving. Okay, I'll give you that one.
• Christmas is still 100 days away and should not be addressed until after Thanksgiving.

Thank you. And have a wonderful night.

Ode To Autumn

Many people I know love Autumn. For some, it's their favorite season of the year.

I am not one of those people.

Reasons not to love Autumn:

1. It means it's no longer summer.
2. Which means it's closer to winter.
3. There is a frequent smell of death and decay in the air.
4. You have to start adding layers and layers of uncomfortable clothes.
5. Fun things to do changes from "going to the beach" to "being pulled in a wagon in the frickin' cold and throwing hay at each other"
6. Colds, flu and sickness abound.
7. The baseball season is almost over.
8. You have to hear people talking constantly about the Eagles.
9. It gets dark early.
10. Did I mention it's already cold???

Thank you. And have a wonderful day.

Quotes From Giving

I went to B&N this evening and while I was there I started to peruse Clinton's book, Giving. These two quotes stood out to me.

My gift is nothing. I can have everything I need with less than one percent of my wealth. I was born in the right country at the right time, and my work is disproportionately rewarded compared to teachers and soldiers. I'm just giving back surplus cliams that have no value to me but can do a lot for others. The people I really admire are the small donors who give up a movie or a restaurant meal to help needy people. - Warren Buffet on giving $30 billion to the Gates Foundation.

Beyond a certain point, which we'd reached, money has no further value. It can't bring happiness, but it can save or tranform many lives. - Chris Hohn

Human-Animal Hybrids

If you are on the Rose and A Prayer distribution list, you probably saw the reference that "Having looked at all the evidence the [Human Fertilisation and Embryology] Authority has decided that there is no fundamental reason to prevent cytoplasmic hybrid research" and that "Individual research teams should be able to undertake research projects involving the creation of cytoplasmic hybrid embryos if they can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of an HFEA licence committee, that their planned research project is both necessary and desirable."

Human-animal hybrids? Maybe this would be a good time to pick up a copy of The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Sold!

So the final sale price on my previously dust collecting network camera? $202.50. Sweet.

President Clinton

Historically, I'm not much of a fan of the former President, but I'm really interested in reading his new book. It already seems to be having an impact as attested by the fact that he references Kiva, and they are now having trouble keeping up with demand by willing contributors. (Apparently Oprah also made mention of it so that created another channel of demand.) I'm in favor of whatever communicates the message to our country of the great need, our great resources and that offers some practical and helpful steps to bridge the two.

Positive Steps

As a little health update, I was able to enjoy some positive steps this week. On Monday, I went to the Y for the first time in ages and was able to do 30 minutes on the elliptical without problems. Tonight I went back and did 30 minutes of upper body weightlifting. That is a huge praise! I still have an occasional dry cough, my throat feels kind of sharp (if that makes sense), I need to regain some lost weight and my breathing might still not be 100%, but this was a very positive and exciting step for me. Praise God and please keep praying!

Fire Water

I don't know if anything of practical industrial use could ever come of this or not, but it sounds pretty neat.

Global Investment

Anyone want to get into the Cambodian agriculture industry with me?

One More Song

" . . . and helping white people dance . . . " Classic.

Song of the Day: Brad Paisely ~ Online

I heard this song for the first time when I was home last week. Brad Paisely cracks me up.

Also, at our weekly meeting on Wednesday, a fellow native West Virginian used the phrase "finer than frog hair." I think a little tear fell from my eye.

E-Bay

So I am experimenting with E-Bay for the first time. Thinking I was jumping on the communication wave of the future, a long while back I bought a camera for my PC when Chatham had an IT yardsale. But, being technologically challenged as I am, I never got around to installing it. So, I decided to see what I could get for it on E-Bay. The current bid is $152.50 which is fantastic and is substantially higher than the discount rate I paid for it. Now I just need to figure out how the payment system works, ship it out, and figure out what the tax consequences are of the transaction. I'm going to have to see if there's any other crap lying around my apartment I can get rid of.

Class Begins

My first Dale Carnegie Course on Effective Communication and Human Relations was tonight. I must say it was one of the fastest 3 1/2 hour classes I have ever attended. Much of the night was spent on learning methods of remembering names and beginning conversations with a little goal setting on the side. It wasn't nearly as cringe-worthy as I feared it might be in places. Even going in front of the class and sharing a gimmick for personal name association was tolerable. I am looking forward to the next 11 weeks.

One downside is that the class is up in Valley Forge so it's a bit of a hike, but on the drive home I discovered that 1100 AM covers Cleveland Indians games. I can't believe I hadn't discovered this before now. Reception is a bit shaky in my apartment but it's still pretty exciting.

Completely Normal

I received the results of my pulmonary function test yesterday. To my relief, they were "completely normal." That may be the first time in my life I have ever been certifiably diagnosed as completely normal. The plan now is basically to sit and wait until my appointment with a specialist at the end of September. I would appreciate your continued prayers.

In Memory

I am home in Ohio today for the funeral of my grandfather who passed away on Saturday evening. He was my last surviving grandparent. Sadly, the Greatest Generation is now gone for me.

My favorite grandpa story is that when he was being deployed to serve in the Aleutian Islands in World War II, he was told there would be a beautiful woman behind every tree. When he arrived, he understood the ruse. There weren't any trees.

Another Step In The Revolution

I am not sure when I first heard about Compassion International, but the organization was mentioned often by people during the 40 Day Fast. This morning a volunteer representative shared an excellent presentation with us during Kairos, and I decided to support Letocia Flavia. She is from Uganda and is 3 years old. My choice of Letocia was influenced be four factors. First, I was interested in supporting a girl because women typically face the greatest disadvantages in developing nations. Second, I wanted to support someone in an AIDS impacted area. Third, Karen from my small group served as a missionary at an AIDS orphanage in Uganda. And fourth, we have a Flavia machine at work, and I am hoping I will be reminded to pray for Letocia at least as often as I make myself a cup of tea.

when passion takes on a purpose
and searching ones embrace the light
when skeptics find themselves down on their knees
you'll know it's here

when you hear a sound as loud as thunder
and you hear a cry that shakes the ground beneath you
when you hear a shout that shatters the darkness
you'll know it's here

when the lost find a name worth believing in
and the fallen get back onto their feet
and the broken start to dream again
and the sound of hope fills these streets
you'll know it's here

revolution
can you feel it
revolution cry
revolution
can you hear it
revolution cry
and I believe it
and I believe it

how long do we have to wait
and how long will we stay silent
will this weeping generation dance again
oh God when will the truth be restored

when the lost find a name worth believing in
and the fallen get back onto their feet
and the broken start to dream again
and the sound of hope fills these streets
you'll know it's here

- Revoluton Cry, Lifehouse

Infield Fly Rule

This may be my most boring post I have ever made, but I had someone ask me about this last Sunday. In case you were losing sleep over it, this is the official Infield Fly Rule:

An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare “Infield Fly” for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare “Infield Fly, if Fair.”The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul. If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.

Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder—not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire’s judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.

Is baseball great or what?

Why I Don't Have Cable

So, I was listening to the radio last night and heard about a new show debuting on FX called "4 Oz." It's just your typical story "about a married-dad gynecologist practicing with his father who undergoes a sex-change operation."

Why? Why does this need to be the framework of a television drama?

Garbage in, garbage out.

Struck Again By The Imitation

The Voice of the Beloved.

As I of Mine own will did offer up Myself unto God the Father for your sins, My hands stretched out on the cross, and My body stripped bare, so that nothing remained in Me that was not wholly turned into a sacrifice of divine propitiation; in like manner you ought also to offer yourself willingly unto Me every day in the Mass, as a pure and sacred oblation, with all your powers and affections , unto the utmost strength of your soul.

What do I require of you more, than that you study to resign yourself entirely unto Me? Whatsoever you give besides yourself, I regard not; for I seek not your gift, but you. As it would not suffice you to have all things whatsoever, besides Me; so neither can it please Me, whatsoever you give, if you do not offer yourself. Offer up yourself unto Me, and give yourself wholly for God, and your oblation shall be accepted. Behold, I offered up Myself wholly unto My Father for you; I gave also My whole Body and Blood for your food, that I might be wholly yours, and that you might continue Mine to the end. But if you stand upon yourself, and do not offer yourself freely unto My will, the oblation is not complete, neither will there be entire union between us.

Therefore a free-will oblation of yourself into the hands of God ought to go before all your works, if you desire to obtain liberty and grace. For this is the cause why so few become illuminated and inwardly free, because they know not how to wholly deny themselves.

My sentence stands sure, Unless a man forsake all, he cannot be My disciple. If you therefore desire to be My disciple, offer up yourself unto Me with all your affections.

~ Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Don't Miss The Wonders That Surround You

Saturday was a beautiful day. The weather was as close to perfection as you could get so I sat outside for a fair portion of the day and read. I then had a late lunch with Jake and Rita at 5 Guys, and we went over to Hagley Museum. I had no idea there was so much to see at Hagley. The grounds are beautiful and the history of industry is fascinating. I strongly recommend visiting it if you have not yet done so. $1 Saturdays is an awesome promotion; that may be the best single dollar I have spent all year.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards

There are some pearls and gems of wisdom on this list.

Can't Sleep

Well, it is now 1:30 AM, and I can't sleep. It is not that I am having more difficulty breathing; I am however worried sick about my condition. (Pardon the pun.)

As I have been contemplating things though, I think it is safe to say this. Even if I get hit by a bus on the way out the door tomorrow, I have enjoyed a great life. As I was lying in bed, I started to think of things "I always wish I had done but never got around to" and, to be honest, I couldn't think of any. The closest thing that just popped into my head is to travel to the U.K. But beyond that, I really have no life-goal type regrets. I have greatly enjoyed the travels I have been able to experience, I am happy that I was able to get my MBA and while mildly interested in another advanced degree I am very content with that. I have the best job ever and am so thankful for the opportunity to be part of Chatham. I have enjoyed some grand adventures with the best friends in the world. Just the day-to-day life I get to enjoy with my friends is something truly special. I love my family, and I think I have always appreciated the times we have spent together. I have been in love and know both how happy that can make you feel and how it can break your heart. And while God knows all of my abundant faults and sins, I have tried to serve and honor Him. I am especially thankful for BVBC, Kairos and my small group and all that has meant to me.

The Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying" has played through my mind often. While not glitzy or reckless, I really think I have tried to live that way. Or, as Jonathan Edwards would say, "Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live."

Further up and further in.

Health Concerns

Well, tomorrow is my last day on the juice and unfortunately it did not perform as hoped. I was actually back in the ER again Monday night; they did an EKG and chest X-ray which both appeared normal. I had some blood work done today and will be having a CT scan on Monday and pulmonary function test next Thursday. I would deeply appreciate your prayers. Thanks friends.

An Evening Out

On Saturday, part of my small group (and a former groupie) went up a wine-tasting and concert at the vineyard where one of our group members works. Jason walked us through the process that goes into making wine.





No, Joe, you can't help run the forklift.


It was interesting to learn how aging the wine in wood barrels adds to its distinctive flavoring.


The whole process is done by hand, including filling and labeling the bottles.


Until the finished product is complete!



After the tour, we went upstairs for the tasting.

Jesus was there.








Maybe one too many?


There was a funky soul blues band playing from Baltimore.



There was dancing and much rejoicing.

A Prayer of A` Kempis

I recently came across this in my reading of The Imitation of Christ:

Grant me, O Lord, to know that which is worth knowing, to love that which is worth loving, to praise that which pleases You most, to esteem that which to You seems precious, to abhor that which in Your sight is unclean. Suffer me not to judge according to the sight of the outward eyes, not to give sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men, but with a true judgment to discern between things visible and spiritual, and above all to be ever searching after the good pleasure of Thy will. ~ Thomas A' Kempis

On The Juice

So, my symptoms have not been improving from my aforementioned bleach/allergic reaction. (Though I checked the bottle of bleach and estimate that I used around 3/4 cup to 1 cup in each load; the directions call for 3/4 cup and up to 1 and 1/4 cups for a large wash so at least I feel a little better knowing it wasn't an extreme overdose in that regard.) I called my doctor again today, and he is going to put me on a high octane steroid to try to get things under control. He assured me I still won't be able to catch Barry Bonds; that's okay, I just want to feel well enough to get back to the gym so I can work on those big, beefy arms naturally.

Be Careful With Bleach

You know that commercial that says, "We all do stupid things." Yeah, I can vouch for that. So, it seems that last weekend when I was doing laundry I used way too much bleach (or possibly had an allergic reaction to a new detergent). When I woke up from a nap last Sunday afternoon, I must have inhaled some residual fumes from my sheets and pillows because my throat felt constricted and I was having shortness of breath. After experiencing this for a couple hours (and also coughing just once but vomiting when I did), I called Sandy Knockengost for a professional opinion, and Karl graciously came and took me to the ER. They checked me out and everything appeared fine so they gave me some bendaryl and sent me home, anticipating that things would clear up by the hour and be gone in a day. Well, Tuesday morning I still had the same symptoms. I tried to see my regular doctor, but he was out of town so I saw an (inexperienced) associate. He diagnosed it as just a sore throat (pharyngitis) and told me to gargle with salt water and take cough drops. So Friday rolls around and I am still having trouble breathing so I see my regular doctor. He agrees that it probably was inhalation from the fumes. To my relief he says there is virtually no possibility of this causing permanent damage but that it might be another 3-5 days to clear up. He also gave me an inhaler which I have not used yet. I have felt significantly better the last couple days (I think being outside a few hours for the SOLI prayer meeting Thursday night helped), butI am still not 100% yet. I have definitely gained a healthier respect for the potency of household chemicals as well as an appreciation for those who suffer from asthma. There is perhaps no worse feeling in the world than not being able to breathe. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for a full and speedy recovery.

"I Want A Hypothalamus for Christmas"

Recently at work, we had a team assessment based on the Highlands Ability Battery (or, as we affectionately called it,the Highlands Assault and Battery test.) It was a fascinating exploration and discussion of our individual temperaments and innate abilities and how that manifests itself in our team dynamics. One of the challenges that I have encountered at Chatham that we discussed in the meeting is navigating as a high introvert in what seems to be a predominantly extroverted environment.

As a follow-up to this discussion, one of my co-workers loaned me a book this week entitled The Introvert Advantage, by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D. With extensive physiological detail (the hypothalamus is the part of the brain that "regulates thirst, temperature and appetite and turns on the Throttle-Down System in introverts") the book explores the nature and behavior of introverts and how to most effectively respond to the world of extroverts. I am finding it to be insightful in new areas and a helpful reminder in others. If the study of personality and temperament intrigues you, I think you will like this book.

Liar, Lunatic, Lord . . . or just a little mistaken?

Okay, I promise this is my last post on the God Delusion. This is just so inane I had to share it.

There are still some people who are persuaded by scriptural evidence to believe in God. A common argument, attributed to C.S. Lewis (who should have known better), states that, since Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, he must have been either right or else insane or a liar: 'Mad, Bad or God'. Or, with artless alliteration, 'Lunatic, Liar or Lord'. The historical evidence that Jesus claimed any sort of divine status is minimal. But even if that evidence were good, the trilemma on offer would be ludicrously inadequate. A fourth possibility, almost too obvious to need mentioning, is that Jesus was honestly mistaken. Plenty of people are. - Richard
Dawkins

Waking up one morning and thinking it is Thursday when it is actually only Wednesday, or thinking that your shoes are in your closet when you actually left them in the living room are examples of being honestly mistaken. Believing you are the Son of God as the basis of your life experience, your teaching and your death is a belief far beyond something that could be reasonably categorized as an honest mistake.

Going through the book, it is not that Dawkins never makes a good point or a reasonable argument, but strewn along the paths are so many arguments like this one that, to me, it significantly mitigates the credibility of the book over all. Another aspect that I found frustrating is that at one point when a scientist makes a statement supportive of religion, Dawkins states that he surely must not have meant what he said and that he was under powerful social pressure to be polite to those of faith. So, if anyone says something that is different from you, they obviously didn't mean it? I also find it interesting that he heaps tremendous praise on all of those atheists who were brave enough to stand up for their beliefs in an environment that is predominantly religious, but he considers the praises of those who admire devout Christians who are also distinguished scientists (in an environment that is predominantly atheistic or agnostic) as an act of desperation.

Neglecting the Evidence?

So this week my hold on Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion came through, and I was able to pick it up. I'm about ready to take it back. Here is an example of why:

The genie of religious fanaticism is rampant in present-day America, and the Founding Fathers would have been horrified. Whether or not it is right to embrace the paradox and blame the secular constitution that they devised, the founders most certainly were secularists who believed in keeping religion out of politics, and that is enough to place them firmly on the side of those who object, for example, to ostentatious displays of the Ten Commandments in government-owned public places. But it is tantalizing to speculate that at least some of the Founders might have gone beyond deism. Might they have been agnostics or even out-and-out atheists? - Richard Dawins

Maybe. Let's see:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789. – George Washington

Yeah, you're right Richard. That's just sheer secular atheism through and through.

Lazy Money

Yesterday I went to the bank to deposit a check, and as I was waiting I overheard someone opening a savings account that paid a paltry 1% APR. (Apparently, this was a special offer; the regular rate was only 0.4% APR.) It was all I could to keep from interrupting and telling him, "Don't do it!". If you are looking for somewhere to put your cash, I would encourage you to consider the following:

• Checking: Charles Schwab - 4.25% APR on checking with no monthly fees, minimum balance or ATM charges.
• Savings: HSBC Direct - 5.05% APR, no fees or minimum balance
• Money Market: AmTrust Direct - 5.36% APR, no fees on online transfers, $1 minimum

Don't settle for what your local brick and mortar bank pays. There are better options out there. Make your money work for you.

Sunday Breakfast Mission Back To School Drive

If you are planning on purchasing some school supplies for the Sunday Breakfast Mission, I would definitely encourage you to check out Wal-Mart's Back to School sale. Granted, I've probably just doubled our trade deficit with China but they have some great deals. I was able to purchase the following last night:

• 48 boxes of crayons (24 crayons per box)
• 22 spiral notebooks
• 12 rulers
• 12 bottles of glue
• 12 reams of notebook paper
• 3 boxes of erasers
• 6 scissors
• 6 school boxes
• 6 packs of pens
• 6 packs of pencils

All for a grand total of . . . $46.

Stark Contrasts

I have come across a few pages recently on the leadership of Lincoln and Churchill which really stood out to me in contrast to President Bush, who I think genuinely aspires to be such a principled leader. I no longer have the books to pull a direct quote, so I'll try to describe the situation as best as I can.

There was a point when Lincoln was being berated by a political opponent and Lincoln's colleagues were upset and angered by this and wanted to go on the offense. Abe however acted with great restraint and humility commenting that this legislator is very often right and should be heard out to see what was valid in his argument and what Lincoln might need to do to change. In another instance, someone commented in front of Lincoln during the war that "God is on the Union's side." Lincoln quickly chastised him by saying that God is on the side of the right and that the Union must seek to be right and so be aligned with God and not opposing him. As Bush has often framed the battle against terroristic Islamic extremism as a battle of good against evil, he would do well to listen carefully to the nuance of Lincoln's admonition. I don't think God necessarily has a soft spot on his heart for America; he is much more concerned about justice and rightness.

The third difference comes from Churchill. It is reported in the book Good to Great:

Churchill said, 'We are are resolved to destroy Hitler and every vestige of his Nazi regime. From this, nothing will turn us. Nothing! We will never parley. We will never negotiate with Hitler or any of his gang. We shall fight him by land. We shall fight him by sea. We shall fight him in the air. Until, with God's help, we have rid the earth of his shadow.' Armed with this bold vision, Churchill never failed, however, to confront the brutal facts. He feared that his towering, charismatic personality might deter bad news form reaching him in its starkest form. So, early in the war, he created an entirely separate department outside the normal chain of command, called the Statistical Office, with the principle function of feeding him - continuously updated and unfiltered - the most brutal facts of reality.

This stands in significant contrast to the current administration's formation of a strategy and execution of it in Iraq.

Be A Man

I received my packet from Shared Hope International and started reviewing the materials this morning. One of the methods they are utilizing to combat the devastating child slavery and sex tourism trades is by uniting and challenging men who

Have joined together to take a stand, declaring that the sexual exploitation of children, using pornography, and buying sex is not something real men will tolerate. Real men guard themselves and protect children with dignity.

Become a Defender.

Introducing Oluwafemi

On Tuesday, our small group joined Bayo and Anita in the naming celebration of their first child (and our group's first baby)! I felt a sense of awe looking over her crib and seeing this precious little life. Her name means "God loves me." Indeed, and so do your parents and your small group!

It was great to enjoy the evening with their family and friends and to see Bayo and Anita dressed in their traditional garb for the festivities.

I think I see a babysitter!

I would like to close this post with a prayer of blessing:

O God, you have taught us through your blessed Son that whoever receives a little child in the name of Christ receives Christ himself: We give you thanks for the blessing you have bestowed upon this family in giving them a child. Confirm their joy by a lively sense of your presence with them, and give them calm strength and patient wisdom as they seek to bring this child to love all that is true and noble, just and pure, lovable and gracious, excellent and admirable, following the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, giver of life and love, bless Bayo and Anita. Grant them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy. And so knit their wills together in your will and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may live together in love and peace all the days of their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Spread the Love

One of the organizations that was highlighted during the 40 Day Fast that I have been reading about is Kiva.org. They are a microfinance organization that links lenders (at least in America and perhaps around the world) with borrowers in developing nations. For instance, tonight I was able to help make a loan to Hafiz, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan so that he could purchase a milk cow.

This is kind of a neat convergence point. I have been increasingly interested in microfinance since joining Chatham, but their involvement is a rather technical aspect of helping organizations in this field mitigate their foreign currency exchange risk. So, it was great to learn about Kiva and come across this opportunity to really get connected and involved.

I think the final tipping point in getting me to pull the trigger on this is catching the enthusiasm from the people in my small group who just returned from the Morocco trip. There was a request to borrow the Prayer of Jabez and leafing through a journal version I have of the book again tonight challenged and convicted me.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." - Proverbs 19:17

Map Game

50 States - Shockwave Edition
Play Games
at Shockwave

This game is pretty cool. I would have done better, but I tried dumping New Jersey into the Atlantic Ocean.

Words of Wisdom

Today while I was at the library I came across Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. I discovered the following pearls and gems of wisdom in the first chapter:

"Our trouble is not ignorance, but inaction." - Dale Carnegie

"Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." - Thomas Carlyle

"Every day is a new life to a wise man." - Unknown

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." - Dale Carnegie

"Happy the man, and happy he alone
He who can call today his own
He who, secure within, can say
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today."
- Horace

A Better Opposition

Recently I commented on of Christopher Hitchen's God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and noted that I was still looking for a more reasonable argument against Christianity and religion in general. Well, today's visit to Border's introduced me to Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion. While perhaps not likely to shake religious institutions to their core, it at least makes Hitchen's book pale like a nickel comic next to an actual novel. It has a much more academic feel to it and is not dripping with the same obnoxious hubris as Hitchen's writing. Of course, he still goads "Bible thumping" believers into giving a hostile response with his belligerent description of Yahweh in the opening of chapter 2 but even this did not strike me with the same sort of smugness as Mr. Hitchens offered.

I anticipate that the real weakness of the work, as in Hitchen's, will be that it claims that religion, by its very nature is what actually produces evil and all types of human suffering. By contrast, he would claim, science and secular atheism will be humanity's true salvation. But if religion, by its nature, inherently must produce the defective attributes of hatred and oppression, it seems to me that it does a rather poor job of it. Perhaps here one should create a "Delusion Hypothesis" as Dawkins creates a "God Hypothesis." For if it is religion that is to be blamed for creating those attributes, as perhaps evidenced in someone like Osama Bin Laden, then what does one do with the evidence of creating virtuous attributes and practices in someone like Mother Theresa or Martin Luther King Jr? For every inflamed fundamentalist who would do violence under the banner of religion, there are hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions who practice their faith with kindness and benevolence towards others. And if religion is such a curse to humanity, how does one explain all of the schools, hospitals, orphanages and humanitarian organizations that are faith based? Dawkins also warns about the dangerous sexual repressions caused by religion and points frequently to the Catholic priests' sexual abuse scandals. While those incidents are truly shameful, I do not believe they invalidate Christianity or religion any more than the experience of a doctor who commits malpractice invalidates all of modern medicine.

I have the book on hold at the library. I will be interested in exploring his presentation and how he might handle objections along these lines.

SB5 Defeated

Delaware Representatives have defeated SB5. As a sidebar, I wish that when the issue was covered, reporters would be more precise on what is being opposed and instead of stating stem cell research generically, state if they are describing adult or embryonic stem cells. For instance, I recently saw a poll on CNN.com which was stated along the lines of "Do you believe stem cell research is immoral?" Well, it depends. Opponents of embyronic stem cell research are not cold hearted individuals who are calloused to those suffering from "diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, sickle cell disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, osteoporosis, and multiple sclerosis" and are not opposed to all stem cell research that would seek to alleviate these terrible afflictions.. I simply feel that the destruction of life at its earliest and most vulnerable form should not be permitted, especially when there are attractive research opportunities with adult stem cells and emerging discoveries of procedures that would not destroy human embryos. We would never permit the harvesting of organs from adults even if it would serve the "greater good." Why should we allow this?

Joshua

Great long lost song. I've got to find this CD.

Spotlight

On the lower right hand side of my blog is a little link to a member of Kairos who is serving in Cambodia. Reading Zach Andress's last posting, it's exciting to hear of the work he is doing and the attitude he has towards it. I felt challenged to not forget to pray for those serving on a long term basis as we pray for those utilizing their vacations to serve on a shorter term basis. I have a woefully short attention span when it comes to this sort of thing.

Numbers Freak

Odomoter Reading of the Day: 090909.

Go little Saturn.

The Party's Over

In a repulsive triumph of power over justice, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby today. Apparently, obstructing justice and committing perjury can be done without penalty when you do them for the right people. I know that it is not uncommon for Presidents to pardon people for the sake of political interests, but that doesn't make it right or even excusable. I am disgusted with the present administration.

If anyone else in the state of Delaware is interested in changing their party affiliation, click here.

Sicko

I have not yet seen the Michael Moore movie Sicko which came out this weekend. I was kind of interested in seeing it, and then I heard an interview with Moore on CNBC on Friday afternoon which kind of turned me off. He was perturbed and seemed convinced that it was a conspiracy because the interview was held on the steps of Wall Street and not actually inside the building on the trading floor as he apparently had intended. But, Paula saw it and raved about it and encouraged me to see it so maybe I will try to do so. Moore did make a very sensible comment in his interview that his goal is not to advocate adopting another particular country's policies, but to try to learn the best practices of each and adopt those here. The Wall Street Journal ran the following article in response to the film.

Anniversary

Today is my parents' wedding anniversary. I think it's 33 years now. I feel like one of the lucky few in my generation who have seen their parents live out a healthy and loving marriage relationship. I have heard them mention that they are the last ones left from the friends of their youth who are still on their first marriage. All of the others have gone through at least one divorce, many more than one. My parents have really set a great example. There have been tough times and they have faced many of the same stresses and demands (and probably more) that others have faced only they remained faithful towards each other and kept going and weathered out the passing storms. And it's not one of those relationships where they're just playing out the string until the game's over. They're still very much in love and have a profound respect for one another. Last winter for instance, my dad would go over to my mom's workplace when she was working evenings to warm up her car and walk her out when her shift was over so that she was safe and could hop into a nice warm car. He still writes her little love notes. They love playing cards together, taking their collie for a walk in the park and playing with their grandchildren (my sister's three kids). What can I say? I'm learning from the best. Thanks mom and dad. I love you!

Keeping In Step With The Spirit

I thought Pastor Bo's sermon on Sunday was very convicting and challenging. He ended by saying:

Finally, the mission of Brandywine Valley Baptist Church is to be followers of Christ, known by their love. What stalks my soul by day and haunts my dreams by night is that Christians in all their global diversity see themselves as the single, social embodiment of Jesus Christ in this world and keep in step with the Spirit, each person according to ability and always growing. The salvation of the world awaits that. BVBC is the only congregation we can do anything about. Let’s do it.There’s something else I don’t want the frailty of this sermon to hide. What we are talking about today is the air without which humanity suffocates. Listen to me! If tomorrow we fixed Social Security and Medicare; if tomorrow the problem of illegal immigrants went away; if tomorrow we found a cheap and universal cure for AIDS – if all this happened, the human condition would still be desperate, if it were not also brought into alignment with spiritual life. The life of God in the soul of man is the air without which humanity suffocates. That’s God’s gift to the world through the Church.

A Certain Danger of I-Pods

So, I went for about an hour walk/hike around the park near my apartment yesterday. In the middle of this, I noticed something was kind of off. It was that I was disconnected from my environment. The birds were noisily chirping and wind was blowing through the tree tops but I wasn't really experiencing it becaus I was listening to my I-pod. I had to turn it off for a few minutes and simply take in the environment around me.

Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love my i-pod. I just realized how much the technology isolates me not only from the people around me but from my natural environment.

Tonight I went for another walk but I left my I-pod at home. The silence helped me to pray and to think through some things that were vaguely floating around undefined in my mind. I think I also noticed the fireflys and Venus much earlier than I otherwise would have.

It's a good blend to enjoy both music and silence.